Cruising the Hills West of Girona

May 30, 2022

Today's route took us to the west of Girona into a hilly area of forests and farms with some light industry thrown in here and there. The first leg took us straight into the woods on a small twisty road after we exitted Girona via the treed suburbs. The road wound its way generally uphill for about 15km. We came upon gorgeous homes, fields under cultivation and forests of deciduous trees along the way.

The bird chatter was so loud we laughed and chirped back at them to please keep the noise down. I have yet to see the birds themselves that are singing these lovely songs. What I did see today was a bird that I have never seen before, the hoopoe! It caught my eye because of its flashy wing colouration. I actually saw 3 of them but the were fluttering past and heading in to the dense foliage of the trees, so a wiki shot will have to suffice. How I wished they would hang around a little longer.

At the high point, we came to Canet d'Adri which is best described as a hamlet. It is Monday and a day off for businesses so it was especially quiet. Sadly, that meant nowhere to stop for coffee and cake!

We were on roads of all sizes and traffic volumes today. From roads that nobody uses right up to main roads with transport trucks. For the record, we are not into riding on roads with transport trucks but they are professional drivers and each time we found ourselves in their way, they were appreciative that we scooted out of the way. In both instances, we had pulled off the main road into a driveway that basically led to a pasture or an itty bitty country road. And, just when you think you are well out of the way, Mr. Big Truck needs that space. Happens every time, or so it seems. They gave us a wave and inched past to get to wherever they were going. The thing is, we don't expect places that are frequented by transport trucks out in the country but weirdly, there were a number of industrial sites along the way. We just couldn't figure out what the industries were.

This was a really fun road to ride. Excellent training for running as well.

At the top of the 15k climb, we looked up to see the summit of a locally famous ride known as Rocacorba. The antennae mark the summit in the photo below. It is popular training for cyclists in Girona. We won't be putting that climb on the schedule after all the climbing we did in Mallorca.

From there, the country roads meandered along the edge of large fields. It was a glorious place to cycle. You can see clouds in these photos but they stayed away from us all day and hugged the high hills instead. The temperature was in the mid 20's and there was a light breeze.

We headed off on an even smaller road at St. Gregori (no cafes open here either) where we came upon this 12th century church.

This entire area is dotted with trails and is yet another wonderful area for walking or hiking. Trails are well marked.

As we cycled along the narrow road, we came upon a traffic light. How bizarre, we thought. The sign said we would have 8 minutes once the light turned green to get wherever the other corresponding light was. Soon we noticed a car coming toward us and the light turned green after it passed.

We rode on and were soon climbing a nasty, narrow, lumpy concrete surfaced roadway up a 20% grade. Before we could make a decision if this was wise, we were heading down the other side (also 20% or more) and found ourselvesriding on a gravel road. The roadway followed along the edge of a small clear river for about 5k, which would be perfectly fine for a mountain bike but more than is comfortable on a Bike Friday.

We eventually popped out the other end and onto a paved road. Ever hopeful for a coffee stop, we headed for Bonmati. We arrived to find a company town with a large plant of some sort, company housing and otherwise it was pretty well devoid of a town centre from what we could determine. Shucks!

We looked on the map and noticed a rather large settlement about 5k from us but it did not have a name, which we found odd. No matter which map we consulted there was no name for the town. So, on we rode. Luckily, the road was in excellent shape, had a gentle grade of 3-4% and it was so twisty that cars tended to avoid it. When we got to the summit, we found a failed housing devlopment called an urbanization. Most dwellings were vacant and streets with services had been constructed but homes were never built.

The area is quite beautiful with forests of oak, pine and cork trees. It's essy to spot the cork trees once the cork has been harvested.

This tree has had its cork removed. Miraculously, it doesn't kill the tree.

The rest of the ride was downhill and became busy with traffic as we entered the outskirts of Girona. But we managed to locate a bike path and followed it right in to the city centre not far from our hotel.

By this time we were more than ready for lunch, so we tucked the bikes away and headed for Fabrica Coffee. It's owned by an ex-pro Canadian cyclist and his wife and is a biker (cyclist) hangout with the best coffee in Girona. We each ordered the avocado toast. Here is another idea to tuck away for a lunch snack.

Later on in the evening, we did a stroll along the old defensive wall of Girona where there are magnificent views over the city and beyond.

Elevation gain: 12,608 metres.

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Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 782 km (486 miles)

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Anne AnastasiouWhat a day! A bit of everything but glad it was lovely on the whole. What is there not to love about Spain! I love those walled city walks, the food and the beautiful countryside. So glad this next leg of your journey is going so well. xx
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